Artist
Statement
‘Be aware of the silent presence of each thing.
Be aware of the space that allows everything to be.’
Eckhart Tolle
‘Practising the Power of Now’ 2001
My main aim
is to create contemplative spaces with silent objects.
The layering
of materials and marks is fundamental to my work; erasure and alterations
allude to time, creating a history pertinent to each piece. My working
process is at once additive and reductive, scraping back thin layers of
paint in order to discover what lies beneath and allowing painting mediums
to erode layers of pigment. I use colours that refer to both landscape
and the human body so that the works cannot be pinned down to any one
reading. I am interested in slowing down the viewing process, making works
that appear to have weight, yet have a suggestion of fragility or vulnerability.
I try to
challenge the traditional conventions of what a painting can do, reinvigorating
the painting as a physical object that can more readily be interacted
with, and in doing so hope an emotive response is evoked in the viewer.
The physical
embodiment of the paintings is central when making and viewing the work.
Stitch accentuates the process of construction or de-construction of the
painting; the canvas is divided then rejoined, seams strain to hold themselves
together, or are diligently sewn and repaired. There is a sense of both
equilibrium and tension. The stretcher frame encased within the materiality
of the canvas reveals itself by pushing outwards. Folded corners of fabric
bruise the painted surface from within. For all their stature, the painted
skin of the canvas remains delicate, prone to wrinkles, cuts and tears;
the paintings can be seen as metaphors for the human body and mind as
it copes with the stresses of day-to-day life.
I have taken
work off the wall; a space that traditionally implies a sense of magnitude
and importance for the artwork, and inserted them into the viewer’s
space, enabling them to physically perceive the paintings. In this way
the room as a whole becomes an installation, with the viewer’s eye
being drawn from wall piece, to floor piece and all the spaces in-between.
Sue Bradshaw 2004
Sue
Bradshaw
The Winchester School of Art Fine Art Painting BA (hons)
For
sales, commissions and to send comments to the artist.
|
|
|